Discounts on new electric vehicles has risen by 204 per cent since last January as car manufacturers work to increase sales.
Research by What Car? found discounts worth £3,149 on new EVs and combined cash and finance discount for EVs worth £4,603.
The plethora of discounts comes as purchases for EV has dropped in recent months with the discounts hoping to change consumers’ minds.
The discounts fall in line with the Government’s zero emission vehicle mandate which requires 80 per cent of new cars and 70 per cent of new vans sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2030, increasing to 100 per cent by 2035.
A number of EV brands are offering significant discounts for drivers
GETTY
The move provides assurance for manufacturers and aims to help families make the switch to electric by providing more time for the second-hand EV market to grow and charging points to roll out more widely across the country.
The Government has already installed 43 per cent more public charge points in 2023 than the previous year with hopes for 300,000 charge points by 2030.
Mark Harper, Transport Secretary, said at the time: “Our mandate provides certainty for manufacturers, benefits drivers by providing more options and helps grow the economy by creating skilled jobs.
“We are also making it easier than ever to own an electric vehicle, from reaching record levels of charge points to providing tax relief for EV owners.”
According to the automotive magazine, the number of car makers offering double-digit percentage discounts on EVs has increased from two in January 2023, to six this year.
Steve Huntingford, Editor of What Car?, said: “Electric vehicle sales grew last year, but this was due to tax rules favouring company and fleet drivers.
“By contrast, the extensive discounts that we’re now seeing target private buyers.
“It will be interesting to see if these incentives can tempt more private buyers to go electric in 2024, particularly in light of the new ZEV Mandate.
“With some brands offering up to a fifth off the price of an EV, the importance of shopping around has never been clearer.”
Car giant Honda offered the biggest discount on EVs of up to 20 per cent off with Vauxhall not far behind offering 17 per cent discounts.
Italian manufacturer Fiat is also looking to increase the uptake of electric cars with an impressive 14.6 per cent reduction off the cost of a new vehicle.
With the UK taking EVs more seriously, as of January 2024 there are one million vehicles on the roads and a further 600,000 plug-in hybrids.
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Vauxhall offers drivers significant savings on new electric vehicles
PA
A further 315,000 battery-electric cars were registered in 2023, 18 per cent more than in 2022.
Average electric vehicle discount by manufacturer
Honda - 20.6 per cent
Vauxhall - 17.6 per cent
Fiat - 14.6 per cent
Jeep - 12.6 per cent
Ford - 11.5 per cent
Audi - 11.1 per cent